March shows!

Friday, March 9, 7 pm
Galapagos Art Space
16 Main Street, Brooklyn
Darcy James Argue's Secret Society and Anti-Social Music
$20 (as Argue notes, less than 67 cents per musician).
More info: http://galapagosartspace.com/event/anti-social-music-secret-society

Wednesday, March 21, 8 pm
The Stone, Avenue C and 2nd St., Manhattan
King Cobra and the Mongoose
Chuck Bettis + Evan Rapport
$10
More info: http://www.thestonenyc.com/

Experiments in Punk Pedagogy

Enjoy the fruits of our labor.

Grammy nonsense

Last year, NARAS significantly reduced the number of Grammy categories, with serious repercussions for the awards already terrible diversity in representation (not just in categories -- do we really agree that Eminem should have won a jaw-dropping 31.25% of the "Best Rap Album" awards through 2011?!?). The Latin Jazz, Hawaiian, Cajun, Zydeco, Native American, and Tejano categories were all removed.

Now we see the glorious fruits of this labor. Competing for one "Best Regional Roots Album" award:

47. Best Regional Roots Music Album

Can't Sit Down

C.J. Chenier

[World Village]

Wao Akua - The Forest Of The Gods

George Kahumoku, Jr.

[Daniel Ho Creations]

Rebirth Of New Orleans

Rebirth Brass Band

[Basin Street Records]

Grand Isle

Steve Riley & The Mamou Playboys

[Mamou Playboy Records]

Not Just Another Polka

Jimmy Sturr & His Orchestra

[Starr Record]

Beside the obvious question of how in the world these five albums are going to be judged against one another (two Cajun/Zydeco nominees, one Polka, one Hawaiian, and a N.O. Brass Band), the list is a reminder of the many other albums that were prevented from benefiting from a nomination in the cut categories. Depressing to say the least.

See http://www.grammywatch.org/ for details on the lawsuit filed by Latin Jazz artists and the resolution passed by the San Francisco Arts Commission.

All Scars: Introduction to Humanity

This out-of-print album is now available on WFMU's Free Music Archive! I'm on the "C" jams. Chuck is uploading stuff by the boatload, so stay tuned.



Or on the FMA website: All Scars - Introduction to Humanity

Separated at birth: Beef + Nacho

Ezro Malakov feature

The great Bukharian Jewish singer Ezro Malakov was featured in today's NY Daily News:
http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/queens/2011/07/19/2011-07-19_shepherding_old_words_into_music.html

Interesting book review by Louis Menand:

Debating the Value of College in America